Getting Stronger in Seffner

[George Christiansen]

Just moved over the last two weeks. Got the gym set up in the garage and have some other good changes coming around the bend; like one of my best friends moving nearby and my 4 year old starting school soon.

Going to give benching another try as well as start tracking macros, weight, and body fat more closely.....so I figured I' might as well start another log.

Here's the plan starting next week:

Rotate 7's, 5's, and 3's each week. Different rep range for each lift.

Day 1
Press 5 Sets @ 9-10 RPE
A-Bench 3 Sets @ 90% of 5's
B-Chin 3 Sets @ 8-9 RPE

Day 2
Squat 3 Sets @ 9-10 RPE
RDL 3 Sets @ 8-9 RPE

Day 3
Bench 5 Sets @ 9-10 RPE
A-Press 3 Sets @ 90% of 5's
B-Chin 3 Sets @ 8-9 RPE

Day 4
Deadlift 2 Sets @ 9-10 RPE
Squat 2 Sets @ 80% of 5's


- Back off sets after hitting lowest RPE
- Use Wraps on all Deadlift work sets.

Rest Periods:

- Heavy Bench & Press: 5 minutes
- Light Bench & Press, Chin, and RDL: 3 minutes
- Squat & Deadlift: 7 minutes

Back Off Sets:

- Bench & Press: 5%
- Squat: 10%
- Deadlift: 15%

Weight Increases (Every Three Weeks):

- Bench & Press: 5lbs
- Squat & Deadlift: 10lbs

Deload Weeks (Every 4th Week):

- Cut target reps in half.
- Do one set in each rep range for heavy/main lifts and one set of each light/accessory lift.
- Start next cycle @ next weight jump.

Diet wise I'm going to start with:

3200 Calories
200g Protein
425g Carbs
100g Fat

[George Christiansen]

Weighed in @ 243.8 today. I am @ 18% body fat according to the Navy body fat calculator.

US Navy Calculator - Body Fat Calculator

[George Christiansen]

This week was a Pre-Load week. Just wanted to see where I was at after two weeks of no barbell lifting. These were all a couple of reps short of my plans for those weights over the next three weeks.

Day 1

Press 155 x 1, 145 x 3, 135 x 5 @8
Push Up x 12 @8
Chin x 6 @8

Day 2

Squat 315 x 1, 290 x 3, 265 x 5 @9
RDL 135 x 5 @7

Day 3

Press 155 x 1, 145 x 3, 135 x 5 @7.5
Push Up x 12 @8
Chin x 6 @8

Day 4

Deadlift 365 x 1, 340 x 3, 315 x 5 @8.5
Squat 265 x 3
Bench 215 x 1

Just trying to figure out where to set the pins and see if my guesses for next week were right. Wanted to bench on day 1 &3, but the bench only showed yesterday.

Was sick last night and didn't get to sleep until maybe 3 and then got up at 7:30, so I feel ok considering. Gonna be very lazy this weekend and then start hitting it hard next week.

[George Christiansen]

Went full retard this week and jumped in too heavy and too fast (That's what she said!) along with doing a bunch of manual labor in some crazy heat.



Day 1

Press 135 x 7, 130 x 6, 120 x 7, 115 x 7, 110 x 7 @9
A-Bench 180 x 4, 175 x 5, 170 x 5 @9
Chin BW x 7, 6, 5 @9

Day 2

Squat 290 x 5, 265 x 5, 240 x 5 @9
RDL 135 x 5 x 3 @8
Curls 45 x 10, 55 x 10, 65 x 10

Day 3

A-Bench 175 x 5 x 3 @8
B-Chin BW x 6, 5, 5 @8
Press 120 x 1 x 10 EMOTM @8

Day 4

Deadlift 340 x 3, 315 x 3, 275 x 3 @8
Squat 225 x 1 x 10 EMOTM

Next week should go better. Less to do at the house.

I am going to lower the main lift volume a bit and do the second lift of each session as EMOTM singles to get some practice in without the extra fatigue of real sets.

[George Christiansen]

Day 1

A-Press 140 x 5 x3@9
B-Chin BW x 7, 7, 6 @9
Bench 165 x 1 x10 EMOTM @8

Day 2

Squat 300 x 3 x4 @9
Deadlift 275 x 1 x 5 EMOTM @7

Day 3

A-Bench 200 x 2 (form slip) + 3 x3 @9
B-Chin BW x 7, 7, 7, 6 @9
Press 125 x 1 x 10 EMOTM @8

Day 4

Deadlift 325 x 5 x 2 @9
Squat 230 x 1 x 10 EMOTM

The benching this week was with a straight bar, which bothers my shoulder a bit. Will be using the Swiss bar starting next week. Hope that helps.

[George Christiansen]

Day 1

A-Press 150 x 3 x 4 @9.5
B-Chin BW x 7, 7, 7, 7 @9.5
Bench 170 x 1 x 10 EMOTM @8 Swiss Bar

Day 2

Squat 275 x 5 x 3 @9.5
Deadlift 285 x 1 x 5 EMOTM @8

Day 3

A-Bench 185 x 3 x 5 @9 Straight Bar
B-Chin BW x 7, 7, 7, 6 @9
Press 127.5 x 1 x 10 EMOTM @8
Bunch of light bench singles to mess with set up positions.

Day 4

Deadlift 350 x 3 x 3 @9
Squat 235 x 1 x 10 EMOTM @8

Bench form sucks. I loose so much tightness unracking the bar. Did feel an improvement in shoulder though with a bit wider grip. I am doing to start off the pins next week and see how that goes. I am really only using this as a press accessory with no intentions to compete, so set up is not important to me.

[George Christiansen]

Day 1

A-Press 145 x 5 x 3 @9
B-Chin BW x 7, 7, 7 @9.5
Bench (Swiss Bar Off Pins) 170 x 1 x 10 EMOTM @8

Day 2

Squat 310 x 3 X 4 @9.5
Deadlift 270 x 1 x 5 EMOTM @8

Day 3

A-Bench (Swiss Bar Off Pins) 205 x 2, 195 x 2, 185 x 3, 190 x 3 @9
B-Chin BW x 6, 6, 6, 6 @8
Press 130 x 1 x 10 EMOTM @8


Day 4

Deadlift 335 x 5 x 2 @9.5
Squat 230 x 1 x 5 EMOTM @8

Didn't realize quite how much less weight I'd have to use to Bench off the pins, so Tuesday was figuring that out. Shoulder has been bothering me a bit, but I think the Swiss Bar is helping and after a deload the week after next and some NSAIDs, all the inflammation should die down. I am using the widest grips, which lines my hands up with my armpits, and I am tucking my elbows really close to my body, so in reality these are more akin to a CG Bench than a real bench, but that is fine for me. I really just want some extra tricep work to help my Press.

I came into this new programming set up pushing a bit too hard after a break, so while it'll be a deload after 4 weeks on this particular setup, I think I should be able to go 6 or 8 weeks from here on out.

[George Christiansen]

Day 1

A-Press 155 x 3 x 3 @9.5
B-Chin BW x 6, 6, 6, 6 @8.5
Bench (Swiss Bar Off Pins) 160 x 1 x 10 EMOTM @8

Day 2

Squat 285 x 5 X 3 @9.5
Deadlift 270 x 1 x 5 EMOTM @8

Day 3

A-Bench (Swiss Bar Off Pins) 175 x 5 x 3 @9.5
B-Chin BW x 7, 7, 7 @9
Press 130 x 1 x 10 EMOTM @8


Day 4

Deadlift 360 x 3 x 2, 360 x 1 @10
Squat 230 x 1 x 5 EMOTM @9

Time for a deload next week.

[George Christiansen]

Deload week.
My shoulder has felt shitty all week, so I am giving up on benching for now. I am going to switch things up a bit and basically do one of Andy's programs with a few tweaks I've made for my own needs.

Day 1

Press 145 x 3 x 3 @8.5
Chin BW x 3 x 3 @8


Day 2

Squat 285 x 3 X 3 @8.5

Day 3

Press warm up to 135 x 1
A-Dip BW x 3 x 3 @7.5
B-Chin BW x 3 x 3 @8

Day 4

Deadlift 335 x 3 x 2 @8.5

[George Christiansen]

I goofed a bit with this week's programming.

Should have done day one on Sunday and then taken day three off, but I initially planned to start running a different four day programming setup instead of the current five day setup, but then realized halfway through Monday's session that I couldn't manage the daily volume and time, but instead of just splitting the fifth day up to get a couple of days off this week (like a sane person) I did it straight through without the day off. At least the weights were light.

Day 1

Press 130 x 8 x 3 @9.5
CGPU BW x 5 x 3 @8
Pushdown (Made My Own Squat Rack Attachment) 70 x 8 x 2 @8.5
DB Kickbacks 12.5 x 10 x 2 @8

Day 2
Deadlift 300 x 8 x 3 @9.5
SLDL 185 x 8, 6, 4

Day 3
Dips BW x 5, 5, 5, 3, 3 @9
PushUp BW x 8, 8, 6 @8.5
BB Curl 65 x 8 x 3 @8

Day 4
Chin BW x 5, 5, 4, 4, 3 @9
SB Row 135 x 8 x 3 @8.5
BB Shrug 135 x 8 x 3 @ 7

Day 5
Squat (In Flats) 255 x 8 x 3
ATG Squat (In Heels) 185 x 8, 160 x 8, 135 x 8

Going to switch Day 1's and Day 3's lifts next week. Curls before chins is dumb.